Why shouldn't govt, BUET pay Abrar Fahad's family Tk 10cr, asks HC

The High Court today asked the government and BUET authorities to explain why they should not be directed to pay Tk 10 crore in compensation to the parents of Abrar Fahad, a BUET student who was tortured to death in a dormitory room in 2019.

Abrar Fahad, a second-year student of electrical and electronics engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, was brutally tortured by fellow students inside a room at Sher-e-Bangla Hall on the night of October 6, 2019.

The attackers used skipping ropes and cricket stumps, continuing the assault for hours despite Abrar's pleas for mercy. He vomited, urinated, and begged for water during the ordeal.

His body was found under a staircase in the dormitory early next morning.

On December 8, 2021, a Dhaka court sentenced 20 BUET students to death for their direct involvement in the murder, while five other students received life imprisonment for their roles in the crime.

In addition to today's rule, the High Court also directed the government's Cabinet Division to form an inquiry commission.

The commission will investigate those responsible for the failure to protect Abrar from the brutal torture and to ensure his safety on the BUET campus, Deputy Attorney General Redwan Ahmed Runjib told The Daily Star.

The HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam issued the rule and order following a writ petition filed by a Supreme Court lawyer, Shahin Alam, in 2019 seeking necessary directives.

Advocate Md Mahboob Murshed appeared for the petitioner during hearing of the petition yesterday.